NEW YORK — Free-market aluminum scrap prices saw mixed trends Monday, with spotty demand pushing some grades down while other grades rose as some consumers sought to beat the holiday slowdown.

Old sheet increased to a range of 72 to 74 cents per pound from 71 to 73 cents previously, while high-grade turnings moved up to 70 to 72 cents per pound from 69 to 71 cents.

Prices for 5052 segregated clips dropped to 96 to 98 cents per pound from 97 to 99 cents, while mill-grade mixed low-copper clips widened to 82 to 84 cents per pound from 83 to 84 cents.

Used beverage cans (UBCs) tightened up to 80 to 81 cents per pound picked up, with major consumers saying they were purchasing UBCs for January delivery.

While most scrap market participants reported quiet trading activity, one scrap buyer said his company was pushing prices on some items in order to keep material flowing.

A second scrap buyer said his company was continuing to buy at a regular rate in anticipation of higher prices in January.

"I don’t think there will be any buying going on next week. All the buying will be done this week," he said.

Meanwhile, alloy prices were unchanged, with A380.1 steady at $1.02 to $1.03 per pound.

"The spread between old cast and A380.1 is close to where it should be, maybe off by a penny or two," one alloy producer said. "They say we need $1.04, but they’ll take $1.03."

Old cast was unchanged in a range of 74 to 76 cents per pound.

The cash North American special aluminum alloy contract (Nasaac) closed the London Metal Exchange’s official session Tuesday at $1,911 per tonne (86.7 cents per pound), down 3.7 percent from Friday’s close at $1,985 per tonne (90 cents per pound).